Opposites Attract
by Einna Fletcher
Summary: How they got together and all of the craziness that followed. ShikaxIno fluff, same universe as B(P)B. One-shot series.
1. First Dance (sort of)

**First Dance (sort of)**

Up until an obvious contradiction at the beginning of junior year, Ino Yamanaka was never the girl who people thought would go for a long-term relationship. She was more of the hook-up-at-parties-tantalize-every-guy-before-shutting-them-down kind of girl. That was the way Ino liked it, after all; she didn't want the stress or the emotion of an actual relationship. Casual hookups were easy and fun and she didn't have to care about whoever was on the receiving end. As long as they were cute and preferably muscular (and not total assholes; she'd had too much experience with that kind of guy in the past).

That all changed, however, when Shikamaru Nara entered the picture as someone who was maybe more than a friend. The two of them had had a dysfunctional relationship since middle school. They couldn't stand each other (they were complete and total opposites, after all). They were the last people to ever get together, at least in their own minds.

The first moment when Ino realized, with horror that she actually _liked_ him in a real way, and not a 'you're hot let's make out' way, was fall of sophomore year. Stupid Temari from Suna was in town and clearly liked him too. She was so obvious and gross about it, and whenever the two of them hung out (which was often) Ino seethed from the sidelines. Then she realized what she was doing. And was, of course, disgusted with herself. Ino Yamanaka was never supposed to be a victim of unrequited love. That was Hinata's job. And maybe Sakura's. Well, probably not Sakura anymore. That girl's head was messed up, but Ino knew with (almost) all certainty that Sasuke Uchiha was no longer part of it.

Ino cursed herself for falling in love with the one guy who was literally impossible to be around for more than five minutes without getting furious. She also cursed herself for falling in love with the one guy who she couldn't control herself around. Shikamaru just did something to her that no one else did. And no matter what she did, she couldn't get rid of it. It was so _infuriating_. No matter what she did, nothing worked. No matter how many guys she flirted with and kissed, there was always that black ponytail and lazy (sexy) posture in the background somewhere. And it only got worse. She hated herself for it, because she wasn't supposed to have these problems. Every guy was supposed to kneel at her feet.

* * *

It was September of junior year at some club-sponsored dance, and Sakura had just left Ino to take a break from the hot crowd to hang out with the rest of their group on the edge of the dance floor. Ino, however, was never one to take a break, but as the music blasted she suddenly found herself right next to Shikamaru (it was definitely accidental), who for some reason was much closer to the middle of the crowd than she'd expected.

"What are _you_ doing here? I thought you hated dances." Ino asked loudly from behind him.

Shikamaru started slightly at her voice. "Oh. Ino. Yeah, well, I'm only here because I was keeping an eye on—Never mind."

"Who?" Ino hated herself for being so jealous, but she couldn't control it.

"I—"

"Sakura? Ami Watanabe?"

"What are you _talking_ about?" Shikamaru was looking at her like she was crazy.

"It's some girl, isn't it!"

"Yeah." Shikamaru took a step back. "Never wanted to admit it, but yeah."

"_Who is it_, Shikamaru, _tell me_." She hissed, pointing a finger at him.

"Why do you care so much, anyway?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Because I—" No, there was no way she was going to admit it. "Because you'd look like a total idiot going after some girl. Especially if it's Ami Watanabe. If it was her, that'd be disgusting."

"Honestly. You're always _crazy_." Shikamaru said, exasperated. "It's not _Ami_ _Watanabe_. Or _Sakura_. Jeez."

"Who is it, then?" Ino asked, attempting to resign herself to her fate.

Shikamaru sighed. "You."

For once in her life, Ino Yamanaka was left completely speechless. "Uh—I—What?"

"You're fucking crazy and I can't stand drama queens and shrieking and basically everything about you is obnoxious. I was planning to find someone nice and mellow and _not_ insane, but…That's not really working out. I don't even know what the hell this is, but I can't help it and I don't really want to. There's no strategy for this."

"I hate you so much." Ino said, and smashed her lips against his. The music blasted around them and that's when she felt something real that no sexy midnight hook-up would ever match.

And that was the only time when Ino Yamanaka was happy to break the reputation she had proudly upheld for so long.

It was also the only time when Shikamaru Nara could be seen in the middle of a dance floor, kissing a girl with more energy than seemed humanly possible for someone who supposedly had no energy for anything except sleeping.

* * *

**A/N****: **_These two are so much fun to write, I couldn't resist. Also I was worried Ino was getting all the attention in B(P)B. This is probably going to be a series of one-shots, with the main characters being the two of them. _

_This is all complete fluff, so enjoy :)__  
_


	2. Deck the Halls

**A/N: **_Warning: this story goes deep into cliche fluff land. There is no going back..._

_So I know a ton of people don't celebrate Christmas, and I'm not trying to push it on you or anything. I just wanted to write some fluff and I thought a holiday thing would be timely since it's mid-December. It's also interesting/funny to picture the Naruto gang celebrating holidays like this :) Might__ be a two part Christmas-y thing. Anyway, hope you enjoy :)_

* * *

"Careful," Shikamaru warned yet again as Ino balanced on the top step of the ladder.

"SHUT UP!" Ino screeched.

"And stop _yelling_, you're gonna fall."

"I am _not_ going to fall!" Ino strained upward and successfully hung the bulb on one of the topmost branches of the Yamanakas' large Christmas tree. She wobbled slightly but regained her footing and Shikamaru exhaled in relief.

It was a Saturday afternoon and he had reluctantly agreed to come over to Ino's house to help put up Christmas decorations; so far all that had entailed was stringing lights, until Ino decided to take out a ladder with questionable sturdiness in order put ornaments on the tree.

"Give me another one, will you?" Ino held her hand down expectantly.

"_No_. I'll do it."

"So _now_ you want to help, even though you've been on the couch this whole time watching me work my ass off while you do nothing?"

"I'm getting up now because I'd rather not watch you kill yourself hanging a stupid Christmas ornament, for God's sake. Do you honestly do this every year? It's such a drag."

Ino rolled her eyes. "For your _information_, I happen to _like_ decorating for Christmas. Usually Sakura comes over to help but she's spending the day with _Sai_." Ino wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"What's that for?"

"Just that they're probably getting it on in the art studio. Rolling on the floor in paint and the whole shebang."

Shikamaru snorted. "Your imagination knows no bounds."

"Well at this point I'd rather be there than talking to your lazy ass. While trying to balance on this stupid ladder. You could at least _help_."

"Didn't I just offer to do it myself? But fine." Shikamaru got up, stretched, and then picked out a random ornament from the box and held it up for Ino to take. She grabbed it from his hand and lost her balance for a second on the ladder. He reached up and grabbed her waist to steady her.

They both felt a tingle.

"Thanks," Ino said, hanging the ornament he had given her.

"Just get down, Ino. We can finish it later."

"What, did you have something _else_ in mind for right now?" She started to grin and came down off the ladder.

"No, I was thinking we should light a fire. Your house is freezing."

"Oh." Ino looked disappointed for the shortest moment. "Well okay, you old-fashioned asshole. But it's an electric fireplace. Just flip the switch."

"Seriously?" Shikamaru pressed the switch next to the fireplace and watched the flames flare up.

"Yeah, not too romantic." Ino was standing right behind him.

"It'll do." He said, before turning around and kissing her on the lips.

He heard her surprised intake of breath just before his lips met hers and felt a rush of satisfaction from knowing that even he could still surprise Ino. Shikamaru wasn't one to act on impulse like this, but it was something about the atmosphere.

Ino pulled him down onto the couch without breaking contact. They both were deep into it, until the front door opened; they didn't notice until Inoichi called, "Ino! How's that tree coming?"

They broke apart hastily, both blushing. "It's coming great, Dad!" Ino said, voice cracking slightly. She smoothed back her hair and attempted to look normal even though they both showed all the clear signs of, well, a passionate make-out.

"Is Shikamaru still here?" He asked.

"Yep!" Ino said.

"Alright, well I hope you two aren't getting up to anything too…serious. I'll be in my office." They could hear the amusement in his voice.

"Okay!" Ino said. They both waited for the sound of him going upstairs, and then the closing of his door, before they were kissing again.

"Stay later?" Ino after a few minutes.

"Can't." He said against her mouth and pulled apart from her a few inches. "My mom made me promise to leave by six."

Ino pouted. "I _knew_ she hated me."

"She doesn't hate you. I think she likes you actually. Probably because you're both crazy and she got to gloat over my ambitions being ruined. You know, staying far away from crazy women."

"So I ruined your ambitions?" Ino asked, glaring at him.

"I guess they just changed." Shikamaru shrugged.

"Damn right they did. Because you couldn't resist me." Ino smiled wickedly.

"Look who's talking." Shikamaru said. Then he grinned. "Pretty sure you couldn't resist me either."

"Oh, God, I hate it when you get cocky." Ino said. "Come on, you mama's boy, if you really have to go. I just remembered I've gotta call Hinata, anyway, I promised clothing advice for the party tomorrow."

The two of them got up of the couch. Ino straightened her shirt and led the way to the front door.

"Alright." Ino said. They stood awkwardly at the door for a few seconds. Both of them were loathe to part. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow? For the party?" Ino asked.

"Yeah. I'll pick you up. How fancy is it?"

"It's Hinata's family. What do you think?" Ino rolled her eyes.

"So really formal. Okay, I'll be here at five thirty. You'd better be ready."

"If I'm not you can come and sleep on the couch. Oh wait, no you can't, your shirt'll get all wrinkled!"

"I don't think I'd be able to fall asleep on that couch anyway, not after this afternoon." Shikamaru said.

Ino got his meaning and grinned. "Oh, shut up. You can fall asleep anywhere." She kissed him affectionately and then pulled back. "See you tomorrow."

"Yep." Shikamaru opened the door and stepped outside.

"Wait," Ino stopped him at the last minute for a last quick kiss; then she closed the door on him. He smiled to himself and then headed to his car.

Maybe decorating for Christmas wasn't too bad after all.


	3. Dinner for Two

"We're going to a restaurant?" Ino asked, slightly incredulous, as they parked.

"Yes. Do you have something against restaurants?"

Ino sighed dramatically.

"Don't _sigh_ at me. Come on. Not everything has to be a huge blowout."

"Yeah, but it's our _first date_, Shikamaru."

First date. That sounded so strange, coming out of Ino's mouth. They had made it official (well, if official meant telling your friends, even if they'd seen you hooking up on the dance floor) a week ago. Shikamaru was taking her out for the first time tonight.

It was a little Italian place, not super casual but not formal enough that they would be uncomfortable. He held the door open for her (that was what you were supposed to do, right?) and the two of them were greeted by the maître-d.

"Mr. and Mrs. Nara?" He asked with a wide a smile.

Ino coughed, looking embarrassed (for the first time in her life).

"Uh…Yeah." Shikamaru didn't want to bother correcting him.

"Right this way, please!" He led the way toward their table.

"You didn't say we were _married_ when you made a reservation at this place, did you?" Ino hissed. He could tell she was blushing.

"Of course not." Shikamaru said, rolling his eyes.

The maître-d showed them their table. "Enjoy your meal!" He beamed.

"Thanks." Shikamaru said.

The little table was lit with a candle and looked out onto the darkening street. Shikamaru thought he had done a pretty darn good job picking out a place that would satisfy Ino (even if there was no blaring music or general overexcitement).

They both perused the menu. "You're paying, right?" Ino raised her eyebrows as if daring him to say no.

"Of course I am." He _could_ be a gentleman, after all. "What are you going to get?"

"Garden salad." Ino said, closing her menu.

He sighed quietly. "You know, you should get something more than a salad."

"I'm on a diet." Ino said.

"Why?"

"Because, Shikamaru, a girl needs to maintain her appearance. We're not having this conversation again, it's hard enough convincing Choji."

"Ino, there's such a thing as too skinny."

"What, do you think I'm too skinny?"

"_No_. I think you're prefect the way you are and shouldn't just eat salads when you go out." He said seriously.

"I'll get bloated if I eat anything else." Ino said.

"That's not true. And anyway, who cares?" Shikamaru said, exasperated. "If you're full and happy, that's all that matters. And it's not like anyone will notice if you're _bloated_. Especially me. So don't think I'll be satisfied watching you eat carrot sticks." Wow. He never made long speeches like that, they were way too tiring. But Ino needed to hear it. Sometimes he was genuinely worried about her, because her self-image could be so skewed.

"You want to share something?" He asked her, settling on a compromise.

"Really?" Ino looked skeptical.

"Yes, really. How about the ravioli?"

"Alright." Ino said, taking a sip of her water. "If it makes you stop talking about my eating habits."

"I'm not letting you get salad any time we go out in the future." Shikamaru said.

"Seriously?" Ino rolled her eyes.

"I'm not kidding. New rule."

"Fine." Ino threw up her hands. "Can we not argue now? This is a terrible first date."

Yeah, he'd probably spoken too soon before. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea. What would you rather talk about?"

"I don't know," Ino paused. "This whole thing is...kinda weird."

Well, he couldn't disagree with that. It was so strange that now he could refer to Ino as his girlfriend. He had a feeling she felt the same way too. It had struck him that Ino might be possessive, but she'd only ever referred to him as Shikamaru. And he'd feel completely ridiculous talking about Ino as 'my girlfriend.'

"Yeah..." There was an awkward pause until their waiter came to take their order.

"So," Ino, never one to allow silence, said, "We better talk about something. This is never a problem."

"How's cheerleading?" He asked, stretching.

"Really?" Ino rolled her eyes. "Well, I guess now that you asked. Tenten can be a total slave driver, she's determined for us to show off in front of the crowd."

"Sounds a bit like someone I know." He said.

"Oh shut up. She just screams ridiculous Konoha cheers, not actual helpful stuff. You should see Sakura's face when we bring out the old standards."

Shikamaru chuckled.

"Well, we have a solid squad at least. And once Forehead and I become co-captains we'll be freaking amazing."

"So you're just assuming that the two of you will be the new captains?" Shikamaru raised his eyebrows but grinned.

"Uh, _duh_. There is no way to bypass the two most popular girls. Not to mention the two best cheerleaders on the squad. Ami Watanabe's the only other one who stands a chance, but she's a total underachiever. And she's so obnoxious."

Shikamaru sighed and rolled his eyes. "I don't think you could get any more conceited."

"It's a little bit of healthy cockiness." Ino said with a wave of her hand. "And speaking of captains, who do you think is going to take over for Neji? The idiot?"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes at Ino's nickname for Naruto and shrugged. "Too early to say. It's only what, the first week of October? We've got the entire season ahead of us."

"True. But you should go out for it."

"Yeah, right. Being captain would be a total drag. Too much responsibility."

"Lazy bum."

He couldn't deny that. Instead he shrugged. "I wouldn't be motivated enough for the rest of the team."

"I don't know what to do with you." Ino said exasperatedly.

"You say that way too much." He said with a yawn.

The waiter brought out the dish of ravioli and two plates.

"Mm." Ino said.

"After you." He said, beckoning her to serve herself.

"What a gentleman." Ino said with a grin.

The food was good and as the sky darkened outside he realized this was an uncharacteristically romantic setting for the two of them, with the candle on the table and the two of them sharing a bowl of pasta. Almost Lady and the Tramp worthy. Except they weren't dogs.

Wow, something was wrong (or right?) if he was relating this to cliché Disney movies.

Ino dipped her fork into the bowl of ravioli. "If only this was spaghetti," she said with a wicked smile, as if reading his mind.

"Maybe some other time." He said, rolling his eyes.

"I won't let you forget you said that." She said, an even more evil grin her face.

"I know. I'll regret it later." He said with a sigh.

"No you won't." Ino grinned.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Might as well be honest, because sharing spaghetti with her didn't sound nearly as unappealing as it should.

They finished the bowl. "Are you still hungry?" He asked her.

"Nope. What's next?" She raised an eyebrow. "Something more exciting?"

"I'm so glad you care about all the effort I put into this dinner."

"This dinner where the waiter called me your _wife_."

"You are impossible to please."

"Maybe not." She reached across the table with a smile and grabbed his hand and they both felt a tingle.

"I was thinking we could go up to the Hill." He said. The Hill, aka the infamous location on the edge of town for, well, making out.

"Now _that's_ better."

* * *

It was a relatively warm night, but there was still a strong breeze. They started out sitting at one of the picnic tables (he'd surprised her with hot chocolate—another good move) and then had moved to the grass to…boost the Hill's reputation. It lasted a long time. They didn't do anything serious, but he was pretty awake by the end, when they just lay silently next to each other, Ino for once content with saying nothing.

He felt himself drifting off, but couldn't help thinking.

Their relationship hadn't really changed. They still had the exact same back and forth that they'd had for years. Except now there was some (a lot of) kissing involved. And a way of flirting (that was present even during their arguments) that all of a sudden seemed pretty natural.

"Shikamaru?" Ino said, barely awake.

"Hm?" He said, eyes closed.

"Thanks for saying that earlier. About the food."

"Yeah," He said, a little surprised. "No problem, I guess. You know I—I care about you, that's all."

"I know. This whole night was perfect." Ino said with a smile, leaning her head on his shoulder. The two of them fell asleep like that for the next hour, until it was completely dark.

Then she woke him up and they stumbled their way down the dark hill (getting back after curfew would not please either one's parents). He drove her home and kissed her goodbye in her driveway.

He wouldn't have wanted tonight any other way.

* * *

**A/N:**_ Hope you enjoyed :)_


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